Book 2: Chapter 46: Pulling People to Form Cliques
After seeing that the battle was over, the older disciples felt a bit unfulfilled after witnessing such a wonderful battle. They all left in groups, riding their mounts or flying swords. All of a sudden, only two figures remained in the air.
Now that he could no longer hide, the elegant Wu Tianshan was a bit embarrassed. He looked at the woman with a faint smile, and after hesitating for a bit, he went up to her. It seemed that Wu Tianshan, who seemed to have pretty high status in the sect, was afraid of this glamorous woman.
“Second Senior Sister, how did a competition between new disciples alert you?” Wu Tianshan felt a bit restrained as he clasped his hands and respectfully spoke to the woman in white.
This beautiful woman with killing intent between her eyebrows glanced at the uncomfortable third junior brother before her. “What, you can come but I can’t?”
“Hehe, what does Second Senior Sister mean? Of course you can come, you can come. If there is nothing else, I’ll go first.” Looking at his second senior sister, Wu Tianshan only gave a few flattering smiles. His second senior sister had always been stern and always lectured him. He always had a headache when dealing with her and therefore wanted to leave.
The woman in white suddenly frowned and shouted at Wu Tianshan, “Stop!” Wu Tianshan frowned and the corner of his mouth twitched. He turned around somewhat unnaturally and bitterly looked at his second senior sister.
“Look at you, wandering around and doing nothing all day. You broke your core and formed your nascent soul more than 10 years ago, but you haven’t improved at all. As the head disciple of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, how can you convince the public that the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect hasn’t fallen? If this continues, the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect will be removed from the seven holy lands!” The woman in white had a frustrated expression.
Wu Tianshan suddenly revealed a humble expression. After his previous experiences, he simply gave up on arguing with her. He just pretended to listen carefully and didn’t reveal any unconvinced expressions; otherwise, she would drag him to train. This was the inevitable outcome every time he met with his second senior sister, so he avoided her as much as possible. Today, he had come to see the show and hadn’t expected to meet his second senior sister, who was always in closed-door cultivation. When there were people around, he pretended not to see her, but who would have thought that she would wait for him after everyone left. It seemed like it would be difficult for him to avoid being scolded.
Looking at Wu Tianshan’s expression, the woman in the white dress felt a bit helpless. She frowned and said with an unkind expression, “Hmph, you’re a dead pig that’s not afraid of boiling water. The spirit required to cultivate the sword art has all but left you. You’re even worse than a new disciple. I don’t feel like talking to you. It has been almost 100 years, I don't think you can hold the position of head disciple for long. The other two peaks have been dying to take that spot. When I see the master again, I’ll have a proper talk with him. If you’re not taught properly, how can you take charge of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect and become the head teacher?”
Without giving Wu Tianshan a chance to respond, there was a flash of light and her fiery-red flying sword exuded a red aura. It quickly turned and flew off into the distance. This flash of sword light frightened Wu Tianshan, and he quickly dodged. Wu Tianshan could only reveal a helpless and wry smile as he looked at the back of his second senior sister.He let out a soft sigh in his heart. As Wu Tianshan looked at the back of his second senior sister, he thought to himself, “How can I not be aware of the situation? But Senior Sister, ah, Senior Sister. I’m not interested in the position of head teacher. I just want to travel the world. I don’t want to live such a dull life, cultivating and dealing with the tedious matters of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect. But I will not fall behind in my cultivation.” No matter what, he knew that she was strict with him for his own good. Moreover, his second senior sister had gone too far. It had been several years since he last saw her.
Wu Tianshan didn’t leave yet, and he was in a complicated mood. If only his senior brother was still here, then he wouldn't have to carry this heavy burden. Thinking about his burly and honest senior brother brought a warm smile to his face. Ever since he entered the sect and got a teacher, his senior brother had always spoiled him. But now his senior brother's whereabouts were unknown, so he had to pick up the heavy burden himself.
The battle was over, but the new disciples around the stone platform didn’t disperse.
Instructor Li had taken the heavily injured youth with the scar away for treatment. Only the two instructors and the 80 or so new disciples remained.
Instructor Zhou arrived before Zhao Jiuge and seriously examined Zhao Jiuge’s injuries. After confirming that he was not as seriously as injured as the youth with the scar, he let out a sigh of relief. “Go back and recuperate for a while. As you cultivate, your body will slowly recover. Not bad, little fellow. Take a good look at the Sword Energy Elucidation chapter. I hope you won’t disappoint me in three years.”
After he finished speaking, he looked at the youth with interest. The last of the naivety and immaturity had faded from this handsome face and was replaced with experience. Instructor Zhou lightly nodded.
He then turned toward the excited group of youths and his spirit force spread out. A layer of invisible ripples appeared.
When the youths that were still noisily talking about the fight just now felt this fluctuation, their bodies tremble. They all immediately and obediently shut their mouths and silently looked at Instructor Zhou.
Seeing the crowd all looking at him, Instructor Zhou returned to his stern expression. “From tomorrow onward, you will practice on your own to comprehend the Sword Energy Elucidation chapter. Once you reach the level of Elucidation, you will naturally have a chance to enter the inner sect in three years. Those who haven’t fully comprehended Elucidation will not be able to enter the inner sect. I’ll wait for you all in the teaching hall at the beginning of each month. If you don’t understand anything, try your best to comprehend it. If you still don’t, you can come ask me at the beginning of the month.”
Instructor Zhou looked at the youths around the stone platform. After he saw that no one had anything to say, he continued, “If there are no questions, all of you go back and cultivate properly. Of course, there is no one to force you to cultivate. In three years, it will be up to you to see if you can become the carp that jumps over the waterfall to become a dragon and enter the inner sect, or stay in the outer sect forever.”
After waiting for a while and seeing no one speak up with any questions, Instructor Zhou and Instructor Wang looked at each other. Wind surrounded the two of them and they flew off into the distance. The sun shined on the square, leaving behind a group of youthful and energetic young boys and girls.
A young man wearing a blue sword robe but had an extraordinary aura said with a complicated expression, “I feel like I haven’t seen enough. I didn’t expect the person from the mountains who didn’t have much momentum to turn out to be concealing himself and erupting with fierce strength. Although I despise him, I still admire him.” He looked at the back of the young man in a sorry state and his heart became turbulent.
“That’s right, but we better use our time to cultivate properly. I heard that the inner sect is the real Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect. Only by getting into the inner sect can we see the true might of a holy land. I really yearn for it.” A young man beside him was filled with yearning and was immersed inside his own imagination.
An ordinary youth with a frustrated face complained, “But how should we cultivate? The Sword Energy Elucidation Chapter is like a book from the heavens. What should I do after being unable to condense sword energy after so many days? Those people at least condensed their sword energy, and the instructors will only teach us once a month. What can we do?”
Most youths looked at Zhao Jiuge with admiration. They wanted to talk to him, but after hesitating for a long time, they returned to their residences. Most of them came from ordinary families, and it was those youth that wanted to talk to Zhao Jiuge, who had the same background as them. They felt closer to Zhao Jiuge than the youth with the scar.
In comparison, those from good families just coldly watched from the sidelines. Although some of them agreed that Zhao Jiuge had strength, they were dismissive. They looked at Zhao Jiuge, who was in an embarrassing state, and then headed back to their own residences to cultivate. After all, strength was to be respected. Only with strength would they have value.
Today’s battle had not only established Zhao Jiuge’s status and fame, it had also vaguely divided this group of disciples into two factions. One was the disciples from good families and the other was disciples from ordinary backgrounds like Zhao Jiuge. The separation was distinct.
Although it seemed like the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect was careless about teaching these disciples, in reality, this was not so. Everyone’s path on the road of cultivation was different. No two people walked the same path among all the cultivators in the world. Like how there were no two people that are exactly the same, not even twins. The instructors could only allow the disciples to explore and practice on their own to find their own paths.
If they had any confusion, they would have to figure it out themselves and gain comprehension. Every month, there would be a lecture to summarize the Mysterious Heaven Sword Art. If there was really something the disciples couldn’t figure out, they would ask the instructors. The further one goes on the path of cultivation, the more everyone diverges. The Foundation Realm was a key point, just like how the foundation of a building decided how high it could be. Therefore, one couldn’t be careless.
Before that, might as well allow the disciples cultivate the Sword Energy Elucidation on their own. Then they would reach the Foundation Realm and form their foundation formations. This way, they could decide their own paths, and after that, they would go through a difficult selection process to enter the inner sect. At that point, they would be like carps who jumped over the waterfall to become dragons.
Entering the inner sect would mean they would receive a large amount of resources and at the same time cultivate the higher sword arts. The inner sect disciples were the core of a sect!
The people on the square slowly left, leaving only four people. Wang Baiwan, Liu Yinger, Bai Qingqing, and the unstable Zhao Jiuge. The four of them all had different expressions. Zhao Jiuge slowly walked up to the three of them and looked at them. Then he smiled. When his dried lips opened, they saw his white teeth.